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Refinement of the dosage and dosing schedule of ketoprofen for postoperative analgesia in Sprague-Dawley rats

Abstract

Though ketoprofen is commonly used in rodent surgical procedures, an optimal dosing regimen has not yet been established. The authors sought to refine ketoprofen dosage requirements in rats and to determine whether one or two doses were needed. In one experiment they compared the effects of one preoperative dose of ketoprofen with those of two perioperative doses (3 mg per kg body weight). In a second experiment they compared the effects of two different dosages of ketoprofen (3 or 5 mg per kg body weight). Results show that all regimens tested were similarly effective in curbing post-surgical weight loss and reduction in food and water consumption; therefore, a single dose of 3 mg per kg body weight was the most efficient.

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Figure 1: Results of the first experiment (one versus two doses).
Figure 2: Results of the second experiment (high versus low doses).

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Acknowledgements

We thank Harlan Shannon, Gerald Smith and Alex Wakefield for critical review of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Dale M. Cooper.

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Cooper, D., Hoffman, W., Tomlinson, K. et al. Refinement of the dosage and dosing schedule of ketoprofen for postoperative analgesia in Sprague-Dawley rats. Lab Anim 37, 271–275 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/laban0608-271

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